TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: It’s always a treat when Scientology reveals the actual numbers behind its ‘expansion.’ And today, we have an amazing leak of just how poorly things are really going, thanks to our friend Alex Barnes-Ross! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The patient who is fond of being ‘God’ has an engram impinged solidly against the self dynamic. The one who conducts himself abnormally in matters of sex or children has an engram impinged against the second dynamic. Any of these dynamics and any of their portions can be stopped or colored by engrams. But not one can be
speeded up by an engram or rendered more forceful. The engram takes the native analytical ability and by entangling it causes aberrated manifestations of the dynamics. Three dynamics cannot be channeled into one channel by an engram and then become three times as strong as a fixed idea. If anyone has a strong self dynamic perverted by an engram which says ‘I am God,’ then manifests and acts strongly in his imaginary role as ‘God,’ he will, when that engram is cleared, demonstrate about two or three times the personal force on the self dynamic. Only he won’t be ‘God,’ he will become a powerhouse in some group as himself. If, when insane, he was thoroughly and violently certain that he could save Mankind, when the engram causing that is cleared, he may very rationally but with great force actually set about doing something to further Mankind.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“If you really know your E-Meters, go down to your local hometown detective bureau and ask to talk to the lie detector expert and talk to him for a few minutes and he starts giving you some wise, professional chitterchat. Why, you just tell him you’re a psychologist — he understands that, the man has a limited vocabulary, usually — and tell him you use these things all the time in your practice and so forth, and you’d just like to look over his setup. Well, these guys are all bugs and they will show you their setup with their blood pressure gauge and their respirators and the little meter with the cans, you know, except they don’t put them on properly and they don’t register quite right. Now, you can take the same rig and you can so baffle and astound this man, so he just practically blows his brains out. He says, ‘What have I been doing all this time!’ and so on. You can show him a murder reaction on every cop in the place. You don’t say, ‘Have you committed the murder?’ You say, ‘Have you ever killed anyone?’ And promptly, you get duhduh and the respirator goes bluh, the blood pressure indicator goes blah. You could be very cruel and simply say to the lie detector operator, ‘Obviously, your machine is out of order.’ That’s what he’ll think. He’ll have a letter off right away to the manufacturers.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 31, 1958
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“Well we found the Anchor! In 50 feet of water, the search has been long — 60 to 70 hours of diving on the bottom. The reason we lost it was the NON FUNCTIONING of the K&H radar range ring, awaiting a part for weeks and not expedited. This made an exact range to the place impossible. A crane barge will pick up the Anchor this morning and get it aboard. Put the shackle on right way to — open end facing aft as the Chain goes across the winch. Then we sail.” — The Commodore, July 31, 1970
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“His life consisted of only a few things. He did not work. He listened to these tapes. He solo audited himself endlessly on GPMs and line plots. A VERY bad idea. He drank heavily every night. He had bad hangovers almost every day and took tons of pain killers. What money he did have he spent on prostitutes and alcohol. He was sick, and his teeth were rotting in his mouth to the point where my PCs could not be in the same car with him because the stench was so bad. He was an apathy case that had been doing himself in for many years and he finally killed himself. A very sad story.”
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1999: The Los Angeles Business Journal published a profile concerning Heber Jentzsch, President of the Church of Scientology International. “In 1967, Heber Jentzsch was singing in front of an unusually rowdy crowd in Las Vegas. In the middle of his set, a man stood up and began demanding that Jentzsch get off the stage and that the showgirls be brought in to replace him. It was at that very moment the then-32-year-old Jentzsch realized his life was heading in the wrong direction. He got in his car and headed west to Los Angeles. He went downtown to the Church of Scientology – an institution he had read about while in the Army – and turned over his life. Jentzsch, now 63, has become the president of the Church of Scientology International, which reportedly has 8 million members. As an ordained minister of the religion, he performs weddings and funerals and keeps up his study of Scientology’s tenets several hours each week. Jentzsch also helps to direct the church’s volunteer ministries and community outreach programs, a task that placed him on the front lines of the L.A. riots and Northridge earthquake. Jentzsch blames ongoing animosity toward the church on a fear of changing the status quo. He argues that nay new religion is going to be met with disapproval. ‘I guess I would have to say to the naysayers that if you have a better program and you can save people, then do it,’ he said. Spurred by the involvement of famous celebrities including John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, the church now claims 250,000 members in Southern California – more than any other region of the world. ‘Celebrities are more spiritual in nature,’ Jentzsch said. ‘L. Ron Hubbard said, ‘A culture is as great as its dreams, and dreams are dreamed by artists.'”
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“Hubbard should have just cut to the chase and told the clams that he had discovered that all money was infested with body thetans and that they needed to bring their filthy lucre in to Flag to be audited. He could have called it ‘The Wallet of Fire’.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, oral arguments scheduled for June 25. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence. Now serving time in state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for June 19.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal, which is now fully briefed. Oral arguments hearing set for July 23.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike upheld on appeal. Scientology expected to file additional petitions before case can return to Kalra’s court.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, Scientology Black Ops: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Nicole Kidman’s Scientology auditor: What Ana de Armas is in for with Tom Cruise
[TWO years ago] The secret plan to produce a Scientology social media star
[THREE years ago] More adventures serving legal papers on the elusive Scientology leader David Miscavige!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige is evading service, says the Valeska Paris team
[FIVE years ago] Court file: Brian Statler was never asked to leave Scientology org before being shot
[SIX years ago] Joe Biden’s potential VP pick Karen Bass at a Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ event: Disqualifying?
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Strange Angel’ goes there, teases Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard at season end
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology spilling the secrets of the universe on an LA street!
[NINE years ago] Phil and Willie Jones versus Scientology: The real story of how the billboard came to be
[TEN years ago] Harlem gets its Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ today, and David Miscavige doesn’t want you there
[ELEVEN years ago] Fresh DOX: Police calls to the Narconon in Fort Collins, Colorado — unedited and unread!
[TWELVE years ago] Jon Atack: Did L. Ron Hubbard want to be considered a god?
[THIRTEEN years ago] Scientology Admits Connection to Slimy Anonymous Attack Sites — Again
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,706 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,210 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,716 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,266 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,642 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,137 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,443 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,092 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,310 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,864 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,205 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,776 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,692 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,859 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,445 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,704 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,452 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,021 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,332 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,507 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,189 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,526 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,379 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,495 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,857 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,656 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,540 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,115 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,616 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,876 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,980 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 31, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2024 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2024), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
